Lauren Vargas
(MPP ’14)

Director of Innovation, Office of the Mayor of Long Beach, Robert Garcia (Long Beach, CA)

Biography

Lauren currently serves as the Director of Innovation for the City of Long Beach Mayor, Robert Garcia. Previously, Lauren served as a Presidential Appointee in the Obama Administration at the Department of Defense. She was a Special Assistant in the Office of the Under Secretary of Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, where she focused on the rapid acquisition of defense capabilities. Prior to this position, Lauren worked as a Legislative Assistant for Congresswoman Grace F. Napolitano in Washington, DC focusing on immigration and homeland security policy. Lauren is from Montebello, California. She holds a Master of Public Policy degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Whittier College. She enjoys visiting small historical museums, spending as much time as possible by a body of water, and laughing with her niece and nephew.